2009 People to Watch: What Have They Been Up To?

Brad Antle: Searching for the next big IT services and engineering company

Brad Antle started the year as President of Bradford SCG, an IT and services consulting group, after nearly 10 years as president and CEO of SI International, Inc. Antle also reunited with an old partner: Frontenac, the private equity firm that provided the financial backing for SI International, now part of Serco. This year, Frontenac provided the backing for Antle’s latest venture: Salient Solutions. With $100 million, Salient Solutions was formed to acquire and build a $500 million federal IT services and engineering company over the next five years. “We’re currently on the hunt for a company that can serve as the platform and foundation for Salient Solutions LLC, ” says Brad Antle. “This first acquisition will form the core of a company committed to aggressive organic growth that we will stimulated with private equity investment.”

Bill Ballhaus: Raising DynCorp’s Defense Profile, Again

Continuing his string of successes, Bill Ballhaus was named one of Forbes’ list of most powerful CEOs “40 and under” for 2009. Ballhaus proved worthy of that recognition, and ours. Despite shifting defense priorities, Ballhaus steered DynCorp toward a number of key strategic wins this year. In June, DynCorp landed a $915 million aviation contract with the U.S. government, worth more than its entire revenue for the previous quarter. In July, the U.S. Army contracted a DynCorp-led team to support ongoing operations in southern Afghanistan with logistics services, a multi-billion dollar win. By August, DynCorp had posted higher profits on increased sales for its first quarter of fiscal 2010, which ended July 3. A month later, Ballhaus led DynCorp in its acquisition of Phoenix Consulting Group Inc., a 400-employee company providing services to the intelligence community. The acquisition reveals Ballhaus’s key goals: to accelerate growth, expand service offerings, and penetrate new markets.

Bob Coleman: Head of Six3 Systems

This past year Bob Coleman traded in the title of COO of ManTech for CEO of a new venture, Six3 Systems. Coleman partnered with GTCR, a U.S.-based private equity firm, to form Six3 Systems. Backed by $2.75 in capital from GTCR, Six3 Systems is focused on building a government services platform specializing in national security and defense intelligence. In June, Coleman and GTCR announced plans to acquire Harding Security Associates Inc, allowing Six3 to further expand its national security services offerings. With that “critical first step” wrapped up, expect to see more from Coleman in 2010, as he works toward his long-term objective to build what he calls a “highly specialized national security services provider focused on solving our nation’s most pressing security challenges domestically and abroad.”

Joe Doherty: Securing ACS’ role in the federal market

Joe Doherty spent 2009 cementing ACS’ place in the federal marketplace. In 2009 he oversaw record bookings across federal, state and local healthcare markets. Strategic wins included a $37.5 million contract to help rebuild storm-damaged rental property in Louisiana; contracts from the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts to increase the amount of unclaimed property the state returns to its rightful owners; a five-year contract extension to provide IT services to the city of Irvine, Calif.; and a six-year contract with the Louisiana Department of Social Services to provide electronic benefit transfer services. Doherty recently told ExecutiveBiz: “We’ll see the positive impact of our increased sales resources resulting in a larger pipeline, significant new deals in emerging markets and overseas; and our organization [having] a deeper and broader skill set through strategic acquisitions.”

Julius Genachowski: Championing “Net Neutrality”

This was a banner year for Julius Genachowski: he was named Federal Communications Commission. InformationWeek wrote about his appointment “Genachowski is something of a double threat, having filled important government staff positions in Washington and working at a brace of private business ventures.” The US Senate confirmed Genachowski as FCC Chairman in June. Within 30 days, he tackled universal broadband – “our generation’s major infrastructure challenge.” In August, he oversaw a public inquiry designed to further regulate cell phone and mobile internet providers. “It is essential that the commission develop policies that encourage a new generation of innovators, working with new tools, on new platforms, and having an extraordinary impact on our economy and society, ” Genachowski said. He also announced plans to impose “net neutrality, ” or open internet rules, which would make all airwaves available to any next generation wireless network.

Bill Hoover: “Executive of the Year”

Recently, Bill Hoover received a major award: the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce’s “Executive of the Year” award. The awards are distributed by a council including the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce’s Greater Washington GovCon Council, the Professional Services Council, and Washington Technology magazine. The award recognizes an executive at the helm of a company with annual revenue between $75 and $300 million, caps a year of accomplishments for Hoover. AMERICAN SYSTEMS started of the year with a selection by the Department of Defense as one of 12 companies to support its biometric identification systems, worth up to $497 million. Hoover also spent the year strengthening the company’s delivery of comprehensive readiness services to military and civilian agencies that support national security. Another recent win for AMERICAN SYSTEMS was an IDIQ contract valued at nearly $15 million to provide technical and security engineering services for the Space and Naval Warfare (SPAWAR) Systems Center Pacific.

Linda Mills: Strengthening Northrop Grumman’s Cyber Presence

The year, Linda Mills positioned Northrop Grumman’s billion-dollar IT sector for improved growth and efficiency, beginning by combining the company’s information technology and mission systems units into a new Information Systems unit. Mills also increased her advocacy for a major personal cause: the education of America’s youth. “The growing shortage of science-based talent in our workplaces and universities is a serious problem for this nation, ” said Mills, in accepting a Woman of the Year Award by the National Capital Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America in June. Mills also tackled another pressing issue: cyber security. In July, she helped kick-off a ribbon-cutting ceremony for Northrop’s new Cyber Security Operations Center in Maryland. CSOC, a “cyber Crime Scene Investigation unit, ” focuses on protecting Northrop Grumman and translating those “lessons learned” to customers’ networks and data worldwide, said Mills in a briefing at the National Press Club that same month.

Mark Warner: Keeping Optimism Alive

Mark Warner kicked off 2009 with generational and political change for Virginia, when he filled John Warner’s seat. Warner had already distinguished himself as a political force, wrapping up a successful term as governor with an 80% approval rating in 2006. As a senator, Warner has retained his political punch, particularly among moderates by injecting optimism into an otherwise dreary economic climate. In June, the former venture capitalist and current member of the Senate’s Commerce Committee, told attendees of The Greater Washington Initiative: “While the federal government’s level of activity in the economy may be unprecedented, it’s a temporary measure to jumpstart new industries such as high-speed rail, green technology, and alternative energy.” True to his entrepreneurial roots, Warner has also proposed a more aggressive boost to small business lending by re-allocating some TARP funds toward unfreezing the credit market.

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